realiTEE

I’ve talked a lot about burnout lately, but when you lie on the bed at 3 in the afternoon, the only thing that seems possible is a 3-hour nap. It quickly consumes your life, which is why I’m focused on recovering as much as possible. My energy levels at the moment eb and flow a lot. I can head out for a run feeling fine, and before I hit 5k, I could curl up and sleep.
Towards the back end of last year, I was doing better. We weren’t working on the house every free moment we had. We were in a good gym routine 3 times a week and ran 3 times a week. Still, my distance was relatively low after being diagnosed with an overworked calf muscle. I honestly thought that by the time we were over the jet lag after landing in Melbourne, I’d be back to my old self and could run and weight train all week long. It turns out burnout is hard to recover from, and you have to do it slowly and consistently. I officially have six weeks until marathon training and intend to set myself up as best as possible.

My pre-marathon training training plan:
3 runs a week, no prescribed distance or speed. It’s more about making the habit of going out for runs & getting my body used to it. If I feel like a speed session, then maybe I will. If I feel like running 15k, great; if I only run 3k, that’s also fine.
Pilates- yep, for six weeks at least, I am ditching the gym! Pilates has always intrigued me, but it is not very common or accessible in the UK. Here in Melbourne, it’s not only super accessible but also relatively affordable, depending on the suburb and whether or not you opt for reformer classes.
Food: No diet, just eat intuitively, whatever that looks like daily.

Here’s why I’m skipping the gym & focusing on pilates & how it can actually help runners.

♡ ITS STILL STRENGTH TRAINING
Okay, so there’s some controversy around this. You can fall into a TikTok hole of people talking about how pilates doesn’t actually do anything for your body & body composition, but the classes I’ve been to definitely use the same basic compound movements, just in different ways, from lunges to push-ups and everything in between. Also, pilates is & always has been big with dancers & models & have you seen their bodies!

♡ IT FOCUSES IN FORM
We all know we should all focus on our form in the gym, but if we’re all honest, it doesn’t happen as much as it should. In pilates (reformer especially), form is everything. You might not be holding heavy weights, but you’ll be doing movements for longer. If the right muscles aren’t engaged, you will hurt yourself. Thankfully, your instructor will be able to see if you are struggling and either help with your form or provide an alternative suitable for you.

♡ IT’S GREAT FOR RUNNERS
Because running is a repetitive movement, where your body mainly works in one plane in one direction, a slight muscle imbalance or gait imbalance can quickly become magnified until it becomes an injury. Pilates can really help to identify & strengthen these weaknesses.

♡ IT’S GREAT FOR RUNNERS
It will hold you accountable; the gym is free for all, and you can come and go as you please. Pilates, however, requires booking a class for a specific time & date; if you even think about cancelling, there’s a cancellation charge. Why pay twice for something you didn’t do when you could just go & feel a hell of a lot better afterwards.

♡ IT WILL FIT AROUND YOUR TRAINING
Pilates is a low-impact activity that won’t leave you drained; you can pretty much fit it in whenever you have time without compromising your run; it’ll just depend on your class schedule.

IF YOU WANT TO GET STARTED
One great place to start is the We Glow App. I’ve talked about this app before; I’ve done a few challenges on the app & seen my fair share of results. Last year, the founder of We Glow introduced her hybrid way of working out, which is a blended mix of pilates and strength training, which is the program I did before leaving the UK and probably the program I’ll go back to when I do start introducing strength training back into my training.

If you’re unsure about the app, check out Stef’s YouTube. She has some really great free resources. You can do real-time workouts with her.

PilatesAnytime is an online platform where you can follow along at home & save on the commute time to & from classes.

Currently, I attend Good Feels Pilates, which is a reformer-only studio offering a range of classes, including specific classes for beginners, those over 50 and strong classes that involve the reformer machine, one dumbbell and a prayer first thing that I don’t fall off the machine & hit myself in the head with a dumbbell. However, it’ll be too far to travel to once we move later this month & I’ll be switching to Core Plus, which I’m excited to mix up a bit as they offer reformer, hot mat Pilates, yoga and hot yoga.

I hope you found this post useful. Don’t forget to comment below would love to hear your thoughts & experiences with Pilates.